Fire damages 3 Kalihi homes

A good Samaritan rescued a man in his late 80s from a burning home in Kalihi on Monday.

Ten units with nearly 40 firefighters responded to a fire that broke out at a two-story home at 907 Winant St. just after 11:40 a.m., according to the Honolulu Fire Department.

When they arrived, firefighters observed flames emanating from the back and right side of the structure.

Takeo, 57, of Pearl City, who declined to give his full name, said he was cutting the grass at his friend’s yard nearby when he heard an explosion and saw a black cloud of smoke. “My first thought was, ‘Go help.’”

He entered the carport of the Winant Street home, kicked the door open and yelled, “Anybody in the house?” Takeo said he then spotted a man in his late 80s in the hallway. “I grabbed him and pulled him out.”

After he safely brought him out of the structure, Takeo said, he returned to the home and kicked at least three more doors open within the residence, checking whether any additional occupants were inside. He safely crawled out of the house when flames emerged from a bedroom in the back of the structure after kicking in the door.

No injuries were reported.

Honolulu Fire inspector Carl Otsuka said flames spread to the back of two neighboring homes at 903 and 911 Winant St. The occupants of those residences safely escaped.

Firefighters brought the fire under control at 12:56 p.m. and extinguished it shortly after 1:05 p.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation, and a damage estimate has yet to be determined.

Nine people reside at 907 Winant St.

Lyn Santos, 35, who resides next door at 903 Winant St., said she was cooking when she heard the explosion. She and seven other residents safely escaped. “It happened so fast,” Santos said.

The extent of damage to her home was not immediately known. This is the second time her home has been affected by a fire.

In September 2019 a fire destroyed her home, displacing her and her family. The Fire Department determined a stove left on caused that blaze. “The house was a total loss,” Santos said.

Santos and her family rebuilt the home and moved back in August.

Monday’s fire also destroyed a red Ford pickup truck parked on Alokele Street next to Santos’ home.

According to the truck owner, who works at a nearby business, a witness told him debris from the explosion at 907 Winant St. fell on his truck, charring his vehicle.

This was his second time in two years that a vehicle he owned caught fire in the exact spot. The truck owner, who declined to give his name, said his Mercedes, which was parked on Alokele Street, sustained extensive damage from flames that spread from the 2019 fire that gutted Santos’ home.